Thursday, May 12, 2011

Big J/Class @ Key West

J/111 one-design sailboat- the ultimate day-sailing, racing, weekender 

Join Us for the 25th Anniversary- KWRW 2012!
(Key West, FL)- North America's premiere annual midwinter big-boat regatta, Key West Race Week, has lots to celebrate. A new sponsor and early one-design class commitments from J/Sailors are just some of the reasons the 25th anniversary will be a memorable gathering.  KWRW has on-board Quantum Sail Design Group as Title Sponsor- the regatta will be January 16-20, 2012 (a.k.a. Q/KWRW).

"Key West Race Week is the premiere midwinter regatta in the northern hemisphere and has been for well over two decades," said Quantum President Ed Reynolds, a long-time J/sailor and participant in the first J/24 Midwinters in 1978 that inspired KWRW. "People love heading to Florida after the holidays to catch up with their sailing friends who come from around the globe to participate in this event which is second to none for competitive racing."

"We're grateful for Quantum stepping up to the plate and helping make the 25th anniversary event a reality," said Event Director Peter Craig. "J/Boats entrants and classes have been a really big part of this midwinter classic since Premiere Racing first got involved in 1994. In addition to the J/80 and J/105 one-design classes, we feel the new J specific handicap classes will generate great racing with tight rating bands."

J/Classes committed include the J/105s and J/80s running their Midwinter Championships. A 2012 innovation will be J/Boats based handicap classes that utilize time-tested PHRF rating benchmarks published by J/Boats since 1980 (see J/Boats PHRF Handicaps).  "We are really excited about the prospects of developing J/Boats specific handicap classes at Key West 2012," said Jeff Johnstone, President of J/Boats. "The concept is to group together different J designs of similar speed to provide both excellent class racing, as well as open up the possibility for sub-class one-design racing. An example would be the J/111s and one or two other models racing together with a tight rating band. We are already projecting as many as six J/111s next year for Key West."

Come join us this year for more fun in the sun in Key West!  Please contact J/Boats at "info@jboats.com" or ph 401-846-8410 or Premiere Racing's Peter Craig- Peter@Premiere-Racing.com or 781-639-9545.  For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information  Sailing photo credit- Billy Black photography